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I have many famous names,

I’m also used while playing games.

Where there’s money I may abound,

If there’s none I won’t be found.

I can range from big to small,

But go too big, and you may fall.

What am I?

Hint:

It is something tangible.

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  • $\begingroup$ I was going to say "imagination" before the hint. $\endgroup$
    – Brian
    Sep 20, 2016 at 20:37
  • $\begingroup$ Similarly I was writing up an answer of "lie" until I checked that. $\endgroup$
    – ClickRick
    Sep 20, 2016 at 22:02
  • $\begingroup$ I was gonna say 'Tax', I think it freaking fits! But no, not anymore $\endgroup$
    – smriti
    Sep 21, 2016 at 4:47
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    $\begingroup$ I'm voting to close this as too broad since there are currently 7 upvoted answers, none of which seems to have been accepted. Please consider adding more details to the puzzle itself (not hints). $\endgroup$
    – Dan Russell
    Sep 21, 2016 at 13:57
  • $\begingroup$ Also voting to close, but I will retract my close vote if you edit the question to add a few lines to the riddle and narrow its scope a bit. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Sep 21, 2016 at 14:21

7 Answers 7

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Maybe

A wager

I have many famous names:

other names

I'm also used while playing games:

You may wager that someone is going to win

Where there's money I may abound:

You use money to make wagers

If there's none I won't be found:

If you take money to be anything of value, You can't wager without it

I can range from big to small:

A big wager, a small wager

But go too big and you may fall:

If you wager too much and lose, you could fall into trouble

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    $\begingroup$ "You can't wager if you don't have money" -- I'll bet you a bottle of wine that's not true. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Sep 20, 2016 at 12:42
  • $\begingroup$ @GarethMcCaughan You still need money to buy the bottle of wine ;) $\endgroup$
    – Lyrion
    Sep 20, 2016 at 13:44
  • $\begingroup$ @GarethMcCaughan yeah that was the weak part of my answer. $\endgroup$
    – Areeb
    Sep 20, 2016 at 13:50
  • $\begingroup$ @Lyrion I have some bottles of wine at home. I didn't buy them, they were brought by party guests. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Sep 20, 2016 at 14:01
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    $\begingroup$ In that case, "where there's money" becomes everywhere since pretty much anything can be given a nonzero monetary value, and that line of the riddle becomes useless. :-) $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Sep 20, 2016 at 15:31
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You might be a:

Dollar bill.

I have many famous names

Most dollar bills have the faces of someone famous on them.

I am also used while playing games

Monopoly uses paper money (albeit fake ones).

Where there's money I may abound, If there's none I won't be found

Dollar bills ARE money, so...

I can range from big to small

Dollar bills come in a range of denominations

But go too big and you may fall

The infamous Zimbabwe multi-trillion note (or something, I do not recall) shows that with extremely large denominations, money loses its value, and thus falls. Being a creature who needs money I suppose you fall too?

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Are you a

bank?

I have many famous names,

There are many banks with internationally known names

I’m also used while playing games.

Monopoly (for example) has a bank

Where there’s money I may abound, If there’s none I won’t be found.

Banks can only exist if there's money for them to store or loan

I can range from big to small,

There are big banks and small local ones

But go too big, and you may fall.

Referencing too big to fail

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    $\begingroup$ You won't fall if you're "too big to fail", that's the point of that Wikipedia article. Contradiction. $\endgroup$
    – ToTheMax
    Sep 20, 2016 at 15:39
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Here's my guess

Coin

I have many famous names,

Cent, Pence, Pfennig, etc... Lots of different names for coins in different countries

I’m also used while playing games.

You can bet coins, some games can use coins as markers

Where there’s money I may abound,

Coins carry a monetary value

If there’s none I won’t be found.

If there's no money, there can't be any coins

I can range from big to small,

Coins have a wide variety of sizes

But go too big, and you may fall.

If you have a bunch of them they will be very heavy and could make you off-balance

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You're a

poker chip

I have many famous names,

referencing famous casino names?

I’m also used while playing games.

used in gambing

Where there’s money I may abound,

self explanatory

If there’s none I won’t be found.

also self explanatory

I can range from big to small,

large and small valuation

But go too big, and you may fall.

My guess is 'going big' is referencing a large bet - bet too large and you might lose it all

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    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Puzzling, and good answer! $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi ♦
    Sep 20, 2016 at 16:47
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Are you ...

Alcohol?

I have many famous names

Rum, Vodka, Gin, Whiskey, even Beer

I’m also used while playing games

Drinking games, e.g. beer pong, King's Cup

Where there’s money I may abound,

Can't buy alcohol without money...

If there’s none I won’t be found.

Could be wrong here, since its just a repetition of the previous clue. Without money, you can't get alcohol.

I can range from big to small,

Either referring to size of bottles/cans (500mL vs 1L bottles, or 355mL vs 500mL beer cans, etc) or the percentage strength of the particular alcohol (40% Vodka vs ~75% Bacardi 151, etc)

But go too big, and you may fall.

We all know what happens when one consumes too much alcohol :)

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Are you a...

Mouse?

I have many famous names

Mickey Mouse, Jerry the Mouse, Speedy Gonzalez (as many others)

I’m also used while playing games

Well you actually can use a mouse to play PC games

Where there’s money I may abound,

If there’s none I won’t be found.

Im not sure about this but could be related to... https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_(manga)

I can range from big to small

Well, mouses have different sizes...

But go too big, and you may fall.

Exists a place called Mouse Creek Falls

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